Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-02-18
River "Reminiscences.

~ tell you," he said, throwing him
self back in o heavy armchair. 1.-THE
mississippi is no longer what it used to
be; the railroads have ruined it. There
will be no more such steamers as the
n. +. Lee, the Richardson, or others of
their class built. The steamers used
to float all the cotton of the valley to
New Orleans. and were built to carry
from five thousand to eight thousand
bales. Tho week, however, which it
required a steamer to take it down is
now reduced to twenty-four hours by
rall. Railroads are following the
course OF the river and robbing it of
Its trade, and l look forward 10 the
DAY when tho Mississippi river will be
abandoned entirely in favor of rail.
Yes, he continued in answer TO q
question. gamblers used to hayo II
picnic along the river. but that day.
TOO is past. Its not because people
nave grown better, but because they
have less money. once saw two men
IN u dispute over u game rise from
their chairs. place their pistols ut each
others temple and tire simultaneously.
Their dead bodies were carried away,
anu hes game continued as if nothing
had happened, Those were wild DAYS,
and are not likely to return.
zine mode OF getting other peoples
Hopey a merely changed in some re-
spects. With the exit of the honest
gambler who told his business we wit
mcss the entrance of the speak-tuirf.
put u few days ago u rich planter
boarded this steamer off Nalcucz.
Whlle sitting right where we are now
ie purchased u paper from u newsboy
u Was soon lost in it's pcrsaul.
"'Colonei,' said u bland young man
a few moments after, you have Just
dropped this,'' handing him a $50
note. y
~ reckon not said the old gentle
man, as lie looked over his spcclacles.
"l just picked it up under Your
CHAIR replied the young man, ,.and
see no other way to dispose OF it. How.
ever, since it seems To belong to Meth.
or OF us WI might just us we'll divide
That plan worked well. The old
gentleman passed over ss25 in change.
and the young man 'sauulereu CARELESS
ly out on land. A few minutes after
the vessel had taken to water the old
gentleman presented the $50 note TO
inc clerk IN payment of his lilre.
counterfeit! exclaimed the clerk.
anu then tor ,he first time the whole
ruth daWned upon the Old, mans mind.
"1ho deck hands are IL hard lot.
They WORK, as you see, with IL vim
Wnlle IN port, and pass the time until
the next Is reached i'll playing craps
Ihey are paid $3.50 Il day. When they
arc called up to get thor wages they
divide into little gambling parties III
once, and ny the time port is re:,cneu
OF the fifty men p;ld off about ten will
have All the money. This ten viii take
one night on land, coming back to the
boats dead broke, and on The return
trip there will not DC u nickel in the
Wno.e crew. And the way they cuu 20
through Il stranger" said the sIscaker.
growing warm, lis Il caution. A negro
got on board ut V.cksuurg the olller
day and tell asleep. 1t was noticed
tEat his underclotn ne was new. Qu.c.-
~ the men went to work, stripped him.
divided out the unuerclothiny, put him
back into his old SHOES, Shirt and pam
falcons, and left him. When That
negro aWokc and found the change
winch had been made in him ie was
completely mysti!ied. He could not
understand how his unucrc4ulhlnr
could have been stolen without toucu-
ing the rest. "-Gtyun.0 Loust.t utt0u.